TN regulator slaps notice on Sresan

THE Centre has pointed fingers at the Tamil Nadu Food and Drug Administration (TNFDA) for not yet cancelling the licence of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Coldrif cough syrup, linked to the deaths of at least 20 children in Madhya Pradesh.

- KAVITA BAJELI-DATT, SINDUJA JANE AND ANURAAG SINGH

According to sources in the Union health ministry, the TNFDA was directed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to cancel the license of the pharma company based in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, on October 4. “The TNFDA is yet to cancel the license of the company despite CDSCO recommendations,” sources told this newspaper.

However, Tamil Nadu State Drug Control Department on Wednesday initiated criminal proceedings against G Ranganathan, proprietor cum manufacturing chemist of Sresan Pharmaceuticals.

A special investigation team (SIT) from Madhya Pradesh arrived in Chennai and held discussions with the Tamil Nadu State Drug Controller. Ranganathan, who has been in the pharma manufacturing field for over 40 years, is absconding. The SIT lodged a police complaint against Ranganathan, sources said.